Haunted House Relationships
by Miadaisyc
Summary: Can Nick overcome his fear of Haunted Houses to find the girl of his dreams or will his past come back to haunt him? Based on Series 2 Halloween episode - but goes off track a bit! A one-shot bit of fun. I know it isn't the season - but I write as it comes to me. Hope you like it. Please review, as your comments help. Ztofan & You-drive-me-nuts-miller thanks for your help. XO :-D


AU One-shot Based on Season 2 Episode 6 – Halloween

We start our scene – Jess has split with Sam and is still unemployed but working as a zombie in a Haunted House for Halloween. Nick has invited his freshman year girlfriend, Amelia to stay at the loft… the story is canon for a while, but will then divert. I was also inspired by the ghost train scene from _Amelie_, so very sweet and sexy. Pure fluff, as is my comfort zone. As usual, you may spot certain references to other scenes and episodes. I try and slip them in when I can!

I don't own New Girl or Nick and Jess, but I just want to keep bringing them together in as many ways as possible!

Please review, comment or criticize, it is all helpful. And if you favourite or follow, I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy.

**Haunted House Relationships**

"Oh my God, she's here!" Nick shouted to no one in particular as he spotted the cab pull up in front of the apartment building. He'd been watching out the loft window for at least 20 minutes, nervously looking at the time on his cell phone. Amelia had said she'd be arriving around noon, and it was now eight minutes past. He had so many questions rattling around in his head. Will she still be as he remembered all those years ago in college, petite in stature, but with fiery red hair and a temper to match? It was part of what had first attracted him, she was so cool and self-assured; it had made him a little nervous and insecure at the time. He remembered how awkward he had been trying to catch her attention, all those damn songs he wrote; he even learned to play the guitar for her. And how much money had he spent on gas just to drive her home to Florida every Thanksgiving holiday. Nick shook his head at the memory. He'd been so crazy about her. And now she was coming to visit…

Nick waved down her as she looked up, she looked just the same as he remembered and immediately the butterflies started to flitter around in what Jess referred to as his 'cookie pooch'. He gently rubbed his hand reassuringly over his stomach, '_nothing but muscle here – I don't know what Jess is talking about!_' A couple of minutes later there was a knock at the door and she was standing in front of him.

Nick went to greet Amelia, still a little intimidated by her. He gave her a quick hug and stood back to look at her. Wow, time had certainly been good to her. He quickly introduced her to his roommates. Winston smiled and said hi from where he was sitting at the kitchen table. Schmidt had stealthily manoeuvred himself beside Nick without making a sound, making Nick jump; his hand thrust forward and a sickly smile spread on his face.

"Hi Amelia, it's nice to see you again."

A puzzled look crossed her face as she tried to recollect where they had met before. Schmidt eager to refresh her memory, piped up again.

"It's Schmidt, aka Fat Schmidt, Nick's roommate and confidant in college. I know, I've changed a lot since then, I certainly didn't have these back then…" he added quickly removing his shirt and showing Amelia his finely honed six pack.

Nick saw the look of worry register on Amelia's face and looked sternly at his semi naked roommate. "That's definitely a JAR, at least a twenty Schmidt, and for goodness sake put your shirt back on." Schmidt just huffed and went back to his room while Nick just shook his head.

"Oh, I remember him now. Good to see him again too, but what on earth is the jar thing all about?" asked Amelia.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you about it later. And this…" he turned to look at his third roommate currently walking out of her room wearing her little pink robe, "this is Jess."

"Hello. Nick, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend," Amelia said looking at him quizzically.

"Oh no, we're not…"

"Nick's not my…"

"We don't…"

"It's not like that…"

"We just live together…"

"Not in that sense, Jess…"

"No, not in that sense…I mean that would be gross…"

"Really Jess, gross? Why would it be gross?"

"That's not what I mean…this is embarrassing…we're not together, that's what I mean…"

Amelia laughed as Nick and Jess fell over each other's words, trying to talk at the same time. Both anxious to convey to her that they weren't together 'like that'.

Amelia's sharp eyes thought they caught a glimmer of something that looked like regret in Nick's eyes as they flicked towards Jess's, but she put it down to embarrassment, seeing as they were both blushing madly.

Nick's eyes widened as he faced Jess, trying to subtly indicate to her to disappear by rolling his eyes towards the door.

Jess stared at Nick for a second until recognition dawned, her mouth formed into an 'O' and she made and exaggerated wink before making her excuses to leave and get changed for work.

Nick's attention returned to Amelia. He showed her around the loft and where everything could be found, finally coming to stop at the couch freshly made up with brand new sheets that he and Winston had picked out for her at a recent panicked trip to the mall. He was gratified to see that she had seemed genuinely touched by the thoughtfulness and she stepped closer to him and looked him in the eye.

Nick was glad he was so much older and wiser now. He recognized the look and decided that it was now or never. No more scared freshman, he was a man; he could do this. He was tired of being alone every night and having to rely on some overused scenarios based on a certain former schoolteacher and his vivid imagination, to feel anything remotely like he was in a relationship. Amelia wanted him here and now.

She lunged towards Nick and kissed him ferociously. A little taken aback by the intensity of the kiss, it took him a couple of seconds to steady himself before starting to kiss her back.  
Her need for him became apparent and she started to peel Nick's clothes off his back while pushing him back into his room.

Nick was happy to be swept along with this feeling. He was going to have sex, with the cute redhead he'd never been able to get with in college. He secretly gave his younger self a high-five and set about proving to Amelia how much he had changed – in every way.

Tired and happy, Nick rolled back to his side of the bed and looked over to Amelia. Wow, so that happened! He grinned over at her and she raised herself on her elbow, her hand supporting her head to face him.

"So, we finally did it!" She said smiling and flushed.

"Yup, we did." He grinned back.

"Remind me again why we didn't do this in college"

"I wasn't this cool in college, and you never noticed me in that way. I tried; believe me I tried. All those damn songs. Did you never guess?"

"I think I had some idea, but I was all over the place in college. I'm certainly glad we met up again now."

"I can't argue with that at this moment in time."

Nick raised his arm and slipped his hand under his head. He felt happy and sated, glad that his humiliations from college were far behind him. Amelia reminisced about the old days but Nick didn't really want to go back there. They hadn't been easy times for him and the less he thought about them the better. He let out a loud sigh and looked at Amelia again.

She was done talking. Before Nick could move Amelia had swung her leg over his torso and pinned him to the bed. A little shocked again at just how sexually aggressive she was, he felt rather helpless and a little nervous, but he wasn't going to complain after all, having a gorgeous girl initiate sex was always a turn on. He was definitely enjoying her rubbing her hands over his chest and down his sides, but the enjoyment turned to pain as Amelia bit his bottom lip and dragged it away from his face, pulling it hard with her teeth. Nick mentally shouted "ow". He would have said something, but she was now licking his face and teeth. Not delicately or sensually, but full on lapping at his face like a dog. This was not good, he thought to himself.

Nick braced himself, and tried to divert her away from the foreplay and just go straight in to the sex. Normally he was more of a generous sex partner, but with Amelia, it just wasn't really doing it for him. She seemed keen and it would be rude not to let her finish. He was after all, sort of a gentleman. He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side his hands doing all the work, his mind drifting to big blues eyes and soft wavy brown hair…his go-to diversionary tactic.

With a final moan and maybe a little sigh of relief, Nick rolled over onto his side; his back turned towards Amelia as she slept soundly just behind him. He'd just experienced, well he didn't know if he could put into words exactly what he'd just experienced.

He was no slouch at sex that was for sure. He was certain that if he'd needed to he could get some glowing recommendations from several satisfied women, but nothing that he'd ever done had prepared him for Amelia.

No one, not a single one of his dates had ever licked his face so much. The closest he'd ever gotten to that was from a neighbor's overly amorous dog, and that had been just as unpleasant. Also, why did she feel the need to bite his lip so hard? He pulled his bottom lip and looked down to see if he could see any bleeding. He could feel scratches on his back and legs too. The girl had been an animal!

Feeling battered and bruised, Nick quietly got up and slipped on a t-shirt and jeans and went into the kitchen. He grabbed a cool beer from the fridge and sat down at the kitchen island. Winston and Schmidt were there, each making a sandwich. Schmidt was winding Winston up by lecturing him on the finer points of sandwich construction and how to get the exact proportions of ham and cheese to make it perfect. Nick could tell that Winston one was step away from ramming a large pickle down Schmidt's throat.

A couple of minutes later Jess came skipping into the kitchen. She giggled at her three supposedly adult roommates all wrestling over pickles. She loved living with these guys; they were just as weird as her.

Nick looked up when Jess came into the room. She was dressed in her outfit for her current temporary job; that of a zombie for the local Haunted House event in the park. Nick grinned at her broadly, he had already admitted to them all that she reminded him of a sexy undead Driver's Ed teacher; her long brunette hair caught under a short, scruffy wig, ripped corduroy pants and jacket. Her face was paler then usual with make-up and her eyes were darkened to look hollowed out. Scars and stitched painted on her cheeks.

Jess took a sip of her tea and looked over at the guys, immediately blushing (even beneath all that make up) when she saw Nick grinning at her. Why did he have to say that she looked kind of hot dressed like this? Now every time she looked at him she couldn't help but feel twirly. It was mostly Sam's fault. That smooth, good-looking, successful bastard had swept her off her feet (literally at times) and had satisfied her twirly needs. She wished she could have kept to his rules of keeping it a sex only and no feelings kind of relationship, but she just wasn't made that way. He healed children. How was she supposed to resist that? She missed the contact, being wanted and yes, the sex too. She also just missed her friendship with Nick.

Whenever Sam was around Nick had kept his distance. It hadn't helped either, that a few weeks earlier they had admitted to a mutual attraction between them. Ever since that confession, Jess had made sure that she only did deep lunges when Nick wasn't around.

Now that Sam was gone, Nick was there again to help open jars and watch _The Walking Dead_ with her (inspiration for her costume and acting role, she had said). Jess even helped Nick with his Halloween costume, she was just so glad to have her best friend back.

"So Jess, you off to work now? Nick asked.

"Yes, final night at the 'ol Haunted House. It's been fun but I'll be glad to get back to trying to find a real job." She looked a little wistful as she said this. These side jobs were fun while they lasted but they didn't bring in the big bucks, and she really missed teaching- it was her first love, after all.

"So are you coming along tonight guys?"

"Yes we are" said Winston, "we've got our costumes all sorted. I'm going to be a cop and Schmidt is coming as Abraham Lincoln."

"That's great. Be sure to come and see me in action in the Haunted House, I'll scare the pants off ya, I'm an awesome zombie. In fact, I'm gonna add it onto my resume as a special skill."

Nick shook his head, laughing, "Don't do that Jess, I'm not sure how many schools will be needing zombie skills. I'll be along later too and I'm bringing Amelia."

Nick couldn't be sure but thought he saw Jess's smile fall a little as he said this and her shoulders drop a little, but maybe that was just him, over-thinking as usual.

Jess took a long sip of her tea, keeping the cup at her mouth to hide the look of disappointment on her face.

"Well, this zombie's gotta hustle. The undead's work is never done. See you later guys," she rallied. And she grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

Nick sat at the kitchen counter, eyes still lingering on the door where Jess had just departed, feeling slightly distracted. Schmidt and Winston disappeared to sort out their costumes, but Nick needed a minute by himself. He wasn't that excited about dressing up but Jess had insisted and she'd been so broken up after her split with Sam, that he had complied just to make her happy. His costume was silly and required the least amount of effort – but it was a tribute to his favorite Golden Girl and it had made Jess laugh. He decided that any humiliation on his part was worth seeing the sparkle back in her eyes.

Nick was struggling over his dilemma. He knew that this 'thing' with Amelia was just another in a long line of Miller disasters. He shot a quick look at his door, no movement yet, that was good. He didn't think he could face anymore of her advances. He'd already had to wash his face more times than he thought was necessary. But what could he do? They'd already crossed that line to the point she was now in his bed. He couldn't ask her to move back to the couch…could he? No, he'd made his bed and now he'd have to lie in it…even if that did mean next to the worst kisser in the history of kissing.

Perhaps he should sleep on the couch. No, that would lead to too many questions from the others. He couldn't face another Schmidt inquisition. Why couldn't Amelia just have been normal, like he'd always imagined her to be? She was just his type, in every other way: small and petite, with a feisty and passionate side. He didn't realize he'd released a wild animal. He didn't mind a tiger, but he hadn't expected to be so…ravaged.

And somewhere in the back of his mind Nick couldn't dismiss the look on Jess's face when he said he'd be bringing Amelia with him. Was she jealous? Why did it upset her to see him with someone else…or perhaps it didn't, perhaps he was just imagining it all. He remembered trying to keep a similar look off his face whenever Sam was around…thinking too much again, Miller, just stop it now.

He drained the last of his Heisler and tossed the bottle into the recycling bin. He could hear Schmidt and Winston somewhere in the apartment arguing over the best way to glue on a fake moustache for Winston's cop costume. Those guys, such a bunch of idiots!

Nick made some coffee and took it into his room for Amelia, hoping that it would distract her from any further amorous assaults of his face – washing his face twice in one day was more than enough for any man.

Amelia was awake and dressed when he went into the room. She immediately went to give Nick a hug but he stuck out his arm with the coffee at her to deflect her. She took the coffee with a quiet "thanks" and sat down on the edge of his bed.

Nick excused himself and grabbed his 'Arthur' T-shirt and headed for the shower, returning 20 minutes later refreshed and ready to go. He added the springy bee antennae with a deep sigh and grabbed his keys.

"Schmidt, Winnie, come on let's go kick some ghost butt!"

Looking around at the people dressed in ridiculous costumes all running around and screaming at each other, Nick could only wonder again for the hundredth time that hour, _What the hell was he doing there? Why wasn't he at the bar drinking beer, instead of at this weird freak-fest_?

Everywhere he looked there were Halloween shenanigans going on: pumpkin carving, apple bobbing and someone even had the nerve to try and sell him a bottle of pumpkin ale. Nick gave the guy a scornful look until he had given up and walked away.

Nick was now sitting at the pumpkin carving station that faced the Haunted House. He figured it was the best way to see when Jess had finished her shift without actually having to go in there, plus he could take all his frustrations out by carving a really gruesome face into a pumpkin. He couldn't really concentrate on carving, as his eyes kept looking up at the entrance to the Haunted House, and his thoughts turned to a certain blue-eyed zombie that seemed to have taken over his life. He knew why he was suffering this event, he had promised to support Jess. She had been through such a bad patch recently with losing her job, then her not so perfect boyfriend /casual sex partner, that he wanted to be there for her when she landed this gig. It had given her spirits such a lift; the prospect of being paid for acting like a zombie and scaring people had really appealed to her. Nick really hadn't taken that much persuading, just several minutes of pleading from Jess and her promise of freshly baked cookies for the rest of the week.

He smiled at the recollection, and knew secretly that he would have done it without the cookies; he would do anything for her if she asked him to. The cookies were just an added bonus.

Nick picked up his carving tool again and began to hack away at the pumpkin in front of him. This sucker was going to have fangs…big ones! Amelia returned from getting a soda and presented him with her finished pumpkin effort.

"Look Nick, I've carved us together! Look, here's you and me and our little dog." She pointed as she spoke.

Nick's eyes widened with shock and panic and gave her a worried smile. 'Oh, this is not good, she's picturing us together already,' he thought.

He looked around to see if he could see Schmidt or Winston for some moral support and to perhaps help get this scary woman away from him, but they were too busy with the 'Strongman' booth. They appeared to be in some fierce battle to determine who was the strongest and were fighting over the mallet. They also seemed to be trying to out flex each other by showing their bicep curls. Nick shook his head in disbelief and made a mental note to never let them out in public ever again.

Amelia put her pumpkin on the table and sat down on the bench, sliding her way closer to Nick's side. She put her hands on his face and licked up the side of his cheek, which made him instantly screw his face up in disgust.

"Let's go into the Haunted House, Nick." She suggested, raking her fingers through Nick's hair.

"No thanks, I don't do Haunted Houses, but you go in if you want to." Nick replied, trying to straighten his hair back down and get his face dry again.

"But I WANT you to come with me Nick, it'll be fun. I need you to protect me from the scary ghosts." Amelia pouted, but Nick was not biting.

"I'll pass, Amelia. I'm just gonna finish my vampire pumpkin. Go have fun."

Amelia stood up from the table and moved to grab his arm to pull him along too but was a little shocked when he pulled his arm firmly back and she staggered back a little, losing her footing but not falling over.

A scowl now marring her pretty features, she stood before him with her hands on her hips and began to taunt him.

"What, are you scared Miller?"

"What if I am? No shame in that, that's the point of a Haunted House isn't it?" Nick's voice has an edge to it now. He really didn't want to do this anymore and he'd had enough of Amelia. This whole visit had been a big mistake.

Not sensing the anger in his voice, Amelia pressed on, feeling more antagonistic.

"Nick Miller is a big coward, afwaid of a big, bad kids ride." Her tone was now babyish and mocking and it made Nick's eyes narrow in annoyance. That was the last straw for him.

"Hey, look Amelia, I'm not a coward, I just said I didn't want to go in there. Leave it at that, will ya? Just go away and leave me alone." He was really angry but trying to keep it in check and not raise his voice too much.

Shocked at his words, Amelia just glared at Nick for a minute before grabbing her pumpkin and smashing it on the ground. She then picked up her purse and turned to go. She turned back quickly for a final jab.

"Well this weekend has been a real eye-opener. I didn't realize Nick Miller had become such a wuss since college; but then again I should have guessed. You were always too scared to do things, weren't you? It took you long enough to ask me out."

Nick stood up, his hands on his hips now, defiant and determined to defend himself.

"Well if I'd known that you were such a bad kisser, Amelia, I wouldn't have bothered." He spat back. He stood there breathing heavily, trying to calm his anger and he wasn't altogether surprised when Amelia strode over to him and slapped him hard across the face. He thrust his jaw out and raised a hand to soothe it and found he was not really upset to see her stomp away. He heard her shout that she would find a hotel and come and collect her stuff later.

Jess was taking a well-earned break from zombie duties. She was sitting outside the Haunted House at a side entrance for staff only. She sipped her cool water, trying not to smudge her makeup, enjoying the soothing water.

Her voice was starting to give out with all the screaming and moaning she was doing. Talk about suffering for her art, this was killing her voice.

Jess had been aware of some shouting coming from near the front of the building and curiosity had gotten the better of her. She made her way to the corner of the building and peered around.

Jess looked in the direction of where the shouting was coming from and spotted Nick standing at the pumpkin carving station, shouting and waving his arms angrily, the gestures making his bee antennae bounce around madly. 'Why is Nick yelling?' she wondered to herself, and she looked to find the unfortunate recipient. She then spotted the back of a girl, her long auburn hair moving in an agitated manor, standing a couple of feet in front of Nick, her hands on her hips.

So Nick and Amelia were shouting at each other. Oh dear, this didn't look good. Jess felt bad about watching them. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop like a sneak, but she had felt compelled to stay and make sure he was okay, if only from a distance.

She hated to see him upset and he didn't really seem to be having much luck in the relationship department. If only he could find a girl good enough for him. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that she didn't think any girl was good enough for Nick. He needed someone who knew his moods, what he liked and disliked, what made him laugh, like she did. Perhaps she should coach someone.

Perhaps she could…she shook her head. She couldn't entertain any more thoughts about her and Nick…together. Not him, her best friend (not including Cece). That would be weird, wouldn't it? It was a daily struggle Jess was having with herself trying to think of reasons why they wouldn't work together. Before, it was simple.

She knew he thought she was annoying at first…then she dated Paul, then Russell and then Sam. But now she and Nick were so much closer and apparently, both single. What was really stopping them? It was all too complicated and scary.

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind again and looked over at the arguing couple, making sure she couldn't be seen from her vantage point. She heard Amelia taunt Nick about going into the Haunted House – ooh bad mistake there, and waited for the response. But it wasn't the one she was expecting. Jess recalled the conversation they'd had a when she started this job and he'd mentioned that he didn't like Haunted Houses. When she'd asked him why, he'd said that "it was because they're like relationships. You walk in all confident, and then once you get in, it's not like you thought it would be, and it's scary."

Jess hadn't pressed the point but was a little astonished that he'd revealed this amount of feeling; a part of the mystery that made up Nick Miller. Her attention back to the moment, she wondered why he hadn't been as candid with Amelia, since Jess thought Nick really liked her. Jess couldn't hear all the conversation, as there was too much other noise around, but she certainly didn't miss seeing Amelia stride over and slap Nick hard on the cheek. Jess winced in sympathy, 'oh that had to have hurt.'

Poor Nick, her heart went out to him. It looked like Amelia was leaving. So Nick was alone again…she paused to let that thought sink in and her heart skipped a beat. She looked again at her friend and smiled at his cute, turtle-faced expression as he proceeded to hack at his vampire pumpkin until it was nothing more than messy pulp. Well that was one way to anger manage!

Jess took a last swig of water; time to go back to the house for the last shift. She took a last look towards Nick. He seemed to be looking her way- had he spotted her? Jess ducked back a little more just in case, anxious to not be seen. No, his eyes seemed fixed on the front of the Haunted House, his face sporting a determined scowl.

Jess slipped back in the side door before he looked around and noticed she was there.

Nick indeed had come to a decision, dammit. He wasn't going to be scared anymore. He would go into the Haunted House and confront anything that jumped out at him, like a man!

Striding purposefully toward the entrance, his anger and determination drove him right on through the door. Nothing was going to stop him; but five seconds into the house, he was already regretting his display of bravado.

The rooms and corridors were dark and creepy, strung with fake cobwebs and the sounds of chilling sound effects permeated all around. All his senses were heightened and his body was in the 'fight or flight' response; it all put him on edge. He made his way down a narrow corridor, so far so good, he was jittery but controlling it nicely until something literally flew at him. Nick hit out with a warrior cry, his arms flailing around. He was very relieved to discover it was only a dummy ghost on a wire. Nick tried to regulate his breathing but it wasn't happening. His feet did not want to move and he was sure he was having a panic attack. He was going to die here, alone.

'_Jess_.' Nick's mind focussed on her name. Jess was somewhere in this madhouse. His amazing, sweet and caring roomfriend: if he could just find her, he knew he would make it out alive.

Willing his legs to move forward, one step in front of another, and he steeled himself to go deeper into the haunted house. He came across a room and ventured in. His eyes took a little while to adjust to the brighter flickering light illuminating a grisly hospital operating room scene complete with blood spattered walls and torturous looking implements.

In the middle of the room was a blood spattered girl dressed as a ghoulish nurse.  
She was delving her hands into a large bowl of what looked like intestines and other squishy body parts. When the nurse saw she had a victim she turned to him clutching a fake oozing heart in one hand and a scary syringe in the other. She leaned toward Nick making him stand back with a jump and a small scream.

He laughed nervously adjusting his breathing to take in the scene before him. The girl /ghoul really creeped him out but he couldn't help but think she was a little hot, too. Maybe it was the nurses uniform. They were kind of another of his fantasies, another sweet spot. For a fleeting moment an image of Jess wearing the outfit (minus the blood and guts) lingered in his brain. The corners of his mouth turned up, but quickly decided to store that little image away for another time. Definitely one to savor for his Miller 'alone time!'

Jess's name brought Nick back to the task in hand and his only option at that moment was to ask the hot ghoul nurse. She looked at Nick for a moment, blood dripping down her arm and onto the table in front of her, till she spoke,

"Oh yeah, the zombie. She's around here somewhere, she's one of the moving actors. They have to roam around looking for people to scare. Whoops, customers; excuse me hun, people to scare."

She turned to face the new group of people that had entered the room and waved the squishy heart at them, splattering blood all around. Nick left her to it, relieved to be out of there and away from the bloodthirsty nurse.

Jess had seen Nick enter the Haunted House, and watched him make his way through the place. That was the advantage of working there, she knew where to hide and not be observed.

She admired him for going in and she knew how much he must hate it. This was confirmed when she saw him beat the crap out of the dummy ghost. She knew she had to rescue him, but not before she had a little fun first. She would make him go a little further in before making her move, but decided not to freak him out too much, she didn't want to get punched too!

Nick had stopped again. He was emotionally drained from the day in general and he really just wanted to find Jess and just go home. He called her name a couple of times, but he was being drowned out by the piped in screams and howls. He was about to move on when a clown appeared out of nowhere.

Ever since he had seen the film IT based on the book by Stephen King, Nick had been terrified of clowns. It was partly his own fault, he had been too young to see it, but thought it would be cool. He didn't sleep for a week after that, and always kept a baseball bat nearby just in case. He seriously wished he had that bat with him now! This was a hideously evil clown and it just kept screaming at him. So he did the only thing he could think of, he just screamed back loudly and with a touch of hysterics, and at this point Nick was completely unable to move. He just slid slowly down the wall and curled into a fetal position, covering his head with his arms and making himself as small as possible.

It took a good couple of minutes before Nick ventured out of his protective shell, and convinced himself that the bastard clown was gone. He looked around, relieved that the evil apparition had moved on to other terrified customers, and stood up, checking first that no one had witnessed his rather wimpy behavior.

"This is my nightmare" Nick whispered out loud.

From her hiding place in the shadows, Jess had seen everything and decided that Nick had suffered enough. She would definitely have words with Clive for his overzealous clown-acting, he could have given Nick a heart attack. Not cool.

She followed Nick at a couple of paces behind, making sure to tiptoe so he wouldn't hear her. Jess saw Nick stop just ahead in the corridor; he seemed to be unsure what to do. Jess continued towards him until she was just behind him, so close she could feel his body heat radiating through his t-shirt. In that moment she decided she would be brave, too.

Nick had managed to brave the crazy and step into the unknown, and she wanted to prove that she could do the same.

Nick just stood with his eyes closed and his hands covering his eyes. When would this nightmare be over? He stood still for a moment, just breathing deeply. It took him a couple of seconds to register that someone was standing behind him. He was so beyond scared now that he just stood there, not moving, not daring to move around. Whatever it was, could just do its worst.

He waited and was a bit surprised when nothing happened right away. His skin tingled as two soft hands reached around from behind him and slid gently over his hands, covering his eyes. His breath hitched as he heard a very seductive and breathy voice whisper "_Boo_" in his right ear, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

Confused (and a little aroused), Nick still couldn't move. He tried to work out what was happening. Surely this was a breach of protocol? The actors weren't meant to touch or interfere with the visitors in any way and he was sure, definitely not this way. There was really only one person this could be. His breathing slowed and his shoulders dropped, all stress leaving his body.

He felt her move a little closer to his body and he tensed himself, a little nervous and excited at what was happening, now convinced that this place was not out to scare him to death.

The voice tickled his ear again, "Don't be scared, Nick, I'll never let anything hurt you. Do you trust me?"

Nick nodded his head slowly. This almost felt like a dream, and now he was afraid if he opened his eyes he would be back in the loft.

"Good. Come with me, Bee Arthur! We'll make our way through this together."

Smiling to himself, he knew it was Jess behind him. For a moment he thought she just meant the Haunted House, but something in her voice seemed loaded with intensity, causing him to read between the lines. He lowered his hands and opened his eyes, and turned on the spot slowly to come face to face with Zombie Jess.

Despite the make-up, Nick could see her clear blue eyes gazing earnestly into his face. His mind raced with questions. Could she possibly mean this? Us? Together?

It could be a prank – it is Halloween after all. Trick or Treat? He risked a question of his own.

"You promise you won't let go?" His words are soft and emotional and barely above a whisper. "Is this really happening? Here? Now?"

Jess grabbed both of his hands and brought them up to her lips, not once breaking eye contact. She ran her thumbs over his knuckles and placed a kiss on both hands.

Nick watched Jess intently, incapable of any rational thought. He'd even forgotten to breathe. His heart was pounding in his chest and he let out a long, loud breath, running his tongue over his dry lips but not saying a word.

A group of screaming youths bumped past them, running away from a lurching mummy, but Nick and Jess barely noticed.

Jess finally broke the silence. "Hey, I saw what happened with Amelia, Nick, and I'm really sorry, are you okay?" She reached up to stroke the side if his face that was still a little red from being slapped.

Nick smiled, "Jess, Amelia's part of my past. It was something I thought I wanted or could recapture but I should have realized that those feelings had gone long ago. I think I just liked the idea of getting back together with the first person I ever fell in love with…it would never have worked out though…"

"Why not?"

"Well for one thing, she is a terrible kisser, it was like being licked by a dog!"

Jess wrinkled her nose to mirror Nicks' expressions and laughed loudly. "Any other reason?" her voice held a hint of expectation.

"Well, being secretly in love with a beautiful zombie didn't exactly help either." Nick looked at her with a wry grin, his dark brown eyes met her sparkling blue ones and he watched her face light up with a huge smile.

"Careful there Jessica, smiling like that might burst your giant stitches."

Jess threw her head back and laughed loudly. Nick reached forward and grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer to him. Jess squealed a little at this unexpected action and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck for support, her fingers playing with the short hair at the nape of his neck.

"Well Nicholas, you had better kiss them better then." She replied her voice low and husky.

Nick didn't need telling twice. He dipped his head towards her, first kissing her cheek lightly where the false stitches were. He then moved his head back and smiled at her before lowering his eyes to her soft pink lips and kissing her gently.

Jess tip-toed her body closer to him closing any gap between their bodies and Nick's arm slid further round her waist to draw her closer to him until their bodies molded together.

The kiss deepened as Jess tilted her head for a different angle and lightly parted her lips. She whimpered softly as Nick ran the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip before gently pressing it in to her mouth, intensifying the sensation, his hand moving up to caress the back of her head.

They kissed passionately for what seemed to them like a lifetime, both of them enjoying the new experience they had both secretly wanted / needed / wished for, for so long.

Eventually they broke apart, both needing the oxygen. Their foreheads remained touching and they grinned at each other like lovestruck idiots.

"So," said Jess stepping back a little and taking Nick's hand once more. "Are you ready to do this?"

"I was born ready, Jess," Nick replied exaggerating his Chicago accent.

Jess groaned and rolled her eyes. Something she could see over Nick's shoulder caught her eye.

"Um Nick, don't look around, but there is something behind you."

"Very funny, Jess. I'm not falling for that one, it's as old as the hills." Nick scoffed.

"Uh, seriously Nick, there's something behind you. Take a look if you don't believe me," said Jess a little more urgently. She grabbed his shoulders and turned him round.

They both gasped at the sight of a huge Frankenstein's monster slowly but menacingly walking towards them, arms outstretched and moaning. They looked at each other with mock fear and Jess grabbed Nick's hand tightly and screamed out loud, "Quick…RUN!"

Laughing loudly, they ran hand in hand through the rest of the Haunted House together, neither of them letting go.

Amelia had been true to her word and had stopped by to collect her things. Schmidt had let her in as Nick made himself scarce in Winston's room. He did not want another confrontation. When she had gone the guys headed to their rooms leaving Nick and Jess alone in the living room.

Nick was on the couch still wearing his 'Arthur' T-shirt and drinking a beer, his bee antennae discarded on the table in front of him. His other arm was wrapped protectively around Jess's shoulders as she snuggled up closely into his side. Gone was the zombie costume and make-up of the day. She was now freshly showered and in her dark blue flannel pajamas, her hair tied up casually in a ponytail.

Occasionally she would dive her face into Nick's chest, and make her hands into fists, grabbing handfuls of his t-shirt. Nick glanced down at her when she did this, his heart swelling with happiness and contentment that he finally got to do this with her now, for real, and any time; and especially when they watched scary films.

He secretly planned to do this often and he grinned to himself as he stroked Jess's hair reassuringly.

"Who's scared now, huh?" he asked with a chuckle.

Jess looked up at him through her long dark eyelashes, and swatted his chest playfully. "Don't mock me Miller, zombies and monsters are scary things. You should know that by now!"

"I think zombies are sexy, especially the one I met today. She doesn't scare me at all."

"How do you know she won't try to eat your brains while you sleep, Nick?" Jess giggled and tried to make her eyes big and buggy and scary while she leapt up and over onto Nick's lap.

Nick laughed, momentarily taken by surprise by her sudden action.

"Because I don't plan to do much sleeping, Jess."

"Oh, is that so?" Jess countered, intrigued.

"Absolutely." And in one move he grabbed her around the waist and put her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift. Jess squealed and wriggled as Nick carried her to her room and every time she tried to wiggle free he'd lightly tap her on the ass – which made her squeal even more.

At her door, Nick lightly dropped her back to standing outside her bedroom and grinned at her with a sexy smile, the mood turning from playful to lust-filled.

"Do you want to do this Jess?" he asked quietly. Everything had happened so quickly, he wanted to make sure that this was really what she wanted. After all there was no going back once they stepped over the line from friends to lovers.

Jess looked up into Nick's face, and seeing the conflicted emotions he seemed to be experiencing, she wanted to leave him with no doubt.

"Yes Nick, I want to do this. You said you were secretly in love with me back at the Haunted House, and, well, I just want you to know that goes for me too. It's time we were honest about our feelings."

"God Jess, you are amazing. How did I get so lucky when today started out so badly?"

"No more looking back, Nick. It's time we moved forward and face this scary thing called a relationship face on, together. Now, enough chatter. Take me to bed Nicholas Miller, before I turn back into a flesh eating zombie!"

"Your wish is my command, Jessica Day. Hey, do you think you could borrow that hot nurse outfit sometime...?"

Jess giggled again as Nick nibbled her neck and she pulled him into her room, firmly shutting the door behind them.


End file.
